PHOSPHONATES AND ACYCLIC NUCLEOSIDE PHOSPHONATES: A NEW FRONTIER IN OVERCOMING THE GLOBAL CRISIS OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE

Antimicrobial resistance is a serious problem worldwide. It becomes harder to treat infections. It requires new innova-tive strategies to combact resistant microbes. One of the approach is using phosphonates. These are organophosphate that contain phosphorus and carbon and are different from traditional antibiotics. Phosphonates that fall outside the category of conventional antibiotics constitute a broad group of organophosphorus compounds with notable antimicrobial potential. Their chemically stable carbon–phosphorus (C–P) bond enables interaction with microbial targets through mechanisms unlike those of standard antibiotics, such as the inhibition of key enzymes, disruption of nucleotide synthesis, and interference with membrane-related processes. There are large number of phosphonates available against bacteria, viruses, protozoans and fungi. This review focuses on diverse mechanisms by which non-antibiotic phosphonates interact with various pathogens. By knowing how these compounds specifically target microbial pathways, one can explore their therapeutic ability for medical treatment as well as their effectiveness as potent herbicides.